Logitech G903 – The Elegant Wireless Gaming Mouse

About a year ago, Logitech released the G900 Chaos Spectrum wireless gaming mouse, which earned nearly unanimous praise as the best wireless mouse you can buy. This year it’s back with the G903 a nearly identical remake that exists primarily to provide support for the company’s new POWERPLAY mouse pad. That’s right, this is the G900 all over again, only this time you can buy a $100 mouse pad that will charge your mouse while you use it so you never have to plug it in, or dock it, or swap batteries. And it’s still the best gaming mouse you can buy, with or without a wire.

Design and Features

The charcoal black mouse has a slick futuristic look with cutaways and fins that recall the design of a modern Lamborghini or maybe the Ford GT. Fortunately, none of that flash gets in the way of a comfortable grip. The mid-profile design is suitable for either a claw or palm grip, but those with especially large hands will be most comfortable with a claw grip. I didn’t find any way to hold it that seemed uncomfortable.

Those who are left-handed, or just prefer to use both sides of the mice, will appreciate Logitech’s customizable side buttons. There are spaces for two buttons on both the left and right side of the mouse. The default configuration has two buttons on the left and a flat cover on the right in a right-handed configuration. But you can pop off that cover and snap in buttons, replacing the left-side buttons with a cover, and now it’s a mouse for lefties. Or, if you really just love buttons, snap in all four side buttons! The software fully supports left, right, and both-side button configurations. In fact, if you find you don’t like thumb buttons at all, you can take them off entirely—there’s an option in the software for that, too.

Along the top of the mouse are two small buttons meant to raise or lower the mouse DPI settings, and of course you can customize them as you like. The scroll wheel can be clicked down, left, and right, and has a pleasing rubbery knurled feel. A button on top switches the scroll wheel from a firm style with obvious detents to a freely scrolling mode that acts like a flywheel. That’s not useful in a lot of games, but it’s surprisingly delightful in desktop activities like scrolling long web pages or scrubbing through video editing software.

Around the bottom you’ll find a switch to turn the wireless receiver on or off, a button to toggle through the on-board stored profiles (you can have up to 5), and a round coin-shaped disc. That’s just a blank cover where you’ll snap on the POWERCORE module if you buy the POWERPLAY mat, or you can add on a small 10g weight if you don’t.

In the front is the micro-USB port used for charging. The included cable has a funny-looking connector that is pretty easy to plug in, and it locks in securely enough that it won’t fall out in heated gaming sessions. When the mouse isn’t plugged in, you can plug the wireless receiver into the cable with the little USB extension dongle. Or, just take the tiny receiver out and plug it into a USB port on your PC and leave it there.

At only 110 grams, the G903 is pretty light for a wireless mouse, but I didn’t really feel like the 10g weight made all that much of a difference. Still, if you’re especially sensitive about that sort of thing, it’s nice to have the option of adding a bit more heft to it.

Logitech G903 Specifications

The biggest difference with the Logitech G903 when compared to the new Razer Lancehead comes down to the sensor. The G903 opts for the PMW3366 optical sensor, which is widely considered to be the most accurate in the world compared to Razer’s 5G laser type.

Logitech G903 Design

The look of the G903 is more aggressive than the Razer Lancehead with what I would call a more gamer aesthetic. There are sharp angles for the buttons, lots of divots, and a more spaceship vibe than a traditional mouse. The all-black design though hides some of the more garish aspects, and it looks quite nice all around.

Although Logitech boasts some RGB lighting, it is really on the “G” logo on the back that glows and shifts between the 16.8 million colors. While it contrasts very well with the jet-black body, it’s not quite as cool as Razer’s Chroma lighting. Users can, of course, customize or even disable the lighting via the Logitech software.

The all-plastic design makes the G903 feel a bit cheap, but it also results in a relatively light mouse as well. The top left and right buttons have a loud click to them that some will prefer, while others may find aggravating. Users though can peel open a small door on the bottom of the G903 and put in a

10-gram weight, which I appreciate and prefer. It’s a bit tough to get that door open or remove the weight, but at least it’s there.

For ergonomics, I would rate the G903 as excellent. The rounded palm area in the back nicely fills the hand when using it without disrupting the natural flow of movement.

There are, in theory, four side buttons, but unlike the Lancehead the G903 lets you hide two of them. That makes sense as side button the right side if you are right handed is not very useful. As a result, you can peel the buttons off and put a cover on instead. Users can swap these out too so that left handed users can experience proper button placement as well.

Those side buttons are excellent too. They’re prominent and large enough that I never had to struggle to feel them whether browsing the web or switching weapons in my favorite first-person shooter.

The scroll wheel is significantly clicky with precise movement. Being Logitech, however, the company has added release button that lets the wheel shift to free spin. While I never use such a feature, I understand that many do and since it’s optional, it’s great to have just in case.

On the bottom, the G903 is exceptionally clean with just the Logitech and G903 branding in blue. It looks great. There is also a switch to turn the mouse on or off but no compartment for the 2.4GHz wireless dongle, which is a bit weak.